We’re into November which means big November Tasks and the beginning of our Winter Projects. Winter Projects move us ahead on infrastructure projects that are harder to do other times of the year. We are a little short staffed this year but we have a few big ones on the docket.
Last week we got in all of our Garlic for 2027! That’s 640 bed feet, 20% more than last year. Great timing as you get your first 2026 garlic this week! Plus we’re trying something new for next year. We took all the tiny cloves and planted a dense bed that we’re intending to harvest in the early spring as Green Garlic. We’re super excited!
Cover Cropping has greater significance in an El Niño winter. About 1/5 of our farm can flood and we cannot grow food crops there during floods for food safety reasons, so we plant cover crops. Thus far we have 28 beds sown in cover crops (45 beds last year and 54 beds the year before). These beds have all our fall crops, even the broccoli and cauliflower and Tokyo in today’s boxes so we can get them tucked in with this mix of soil building and holding plants for the winter.
This Monday was Dahlia Digging Day and we had four flower farmers and dug over 600 dahlia plants worth dahlia tubers. Each is an octopus worth of tubers that are now curing in the nursery and in 2 weeks we need to divide. If anyone wants any tuber clusters let us know.
Compost Making for Winter: In the winter when our roads are wet, we are unable to drive the the tractor and farm truck on our roads. Worst is turning compost in the compost area because the big tractor wheels back and forth muck things up. So as summer crops are all now out of the ground and all the amazing above ground biomass is ready to be composted we are quickly trying to get as many turns as possible in our compost piles in before we have to let the compost piles. Additionally late January and early February we are planting up a storm and we need that compost. Thanks to Leo who’s spending many hours this week prepping our compost piles.
November 24th we have down on the calendar as Reskinning our Greenhouse. Our greenhouse is such a sturdy structure and we haven’t had to put new plastic on it in over 10 years. One of the exciting advancements is we’ll installing roll up sides for more ventilation!
Then our big project is putting up a New Hoop House. It’s called the Haven but we’re thinking of calling it Greg (after our heron friend). Our oldest hoop house (the Hanger) is 16 years old and barely hanging together. If we have a big storm it’ll go down, we just know it. This Haven has a lot of structure in it, and as such will help us trellis indoor tomatoes like we trialed and succeeded with this summer. Elizabeth is putting construction on the calendar for Dec 8th and 9th, some of the crew is unsure but we’ll see how much we can get done.
A lot of these projects can take place during non-CSA weeks. Once we get into February and through April we need these weeks for major plant outs: 1st spring brassicas and rolling all the way through Tomatoes!
Holiday Boxes
We haven’t talked much about Holiday Boxes, we love these special one time boxes:
Nov 18th is our last weekly box.
Nov 24th we’ll have our optional Autumn Holiday Box. This is optional, 100% customizable… get just what you want for your holiday cooking or just fill in for the week. Watch for a special email and text about these.
Only 2 pick-up at just two locations:
The Farm in West County
Maeso Home in Santa Rosa in central Santa Rosa
Dec 2nd is our first every-other-week winter box.
Dec 23rd is our optional Winter Harvest Box.
This Week’s Box
Lettuce Leaf Mix
Tokyo Briana Asian Green
Kale: Rainbow (SR) OR Red Russian (WC)
Brassica Head: Broccoli (SR) OR Cauliflower (WC)
Bulb Fennel (SR) OR Kohlrabi (WC)
Delicata Squash
Chesnok Red Garlic
Family: Radicchio + Extras of above
Produce Notes & Recipes
We try to keep a diversity of yummy produce coming to you. This week we have Tokyo Bekana, a tender Asian green in the cabbage family, with bright lime-green, ruffled leaves and delicate white stems. I think of it as Panisse Lettuce crossed with Napa Cabbage and as such can be raw or cooked. If cooked make sure only briefly as it is very tender.
Tips for enjoying Tokyo Bekana
Raw in salads: Use just like lettuce. Its tender leaves are lovely with a sesame-ginger dressing, citrus vinaigrette, or simple olive oil and lemon.
In slaws: Thinly slice the leaves and stems. Mix with carrots, cabbage, or radishes for a delicate, crunchy slaw.
Quickly sautéed: Cook with garlic, ginger, and a splash of soy sauce or tamari. The leaves wilt quickly, so just 2–3 minutes is plenty.
In soups: Add to miso soup, ramen, or vegetable broth during the last minute or two of cooking.
In stir-fries: Use in place of bok choy or napa cabbage. Add the stems first, then leaves near the end.
As wraps: The larger leaves can hold rice, noodles, or other fillings.
Sautéed Tokyo Bekana with Sesame, Ginger & Soy Sauce (Green Earth Institute)
4 Tbs light sesame oil or olive oil
2 Tbs white hulled sesame seeds
4 tsp peeled, minced ginger or ½ tsp. ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 bunches Tokyo bekana (or any Asian green)
2 tsp soy sauce, divided
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
In a wide heavy sauté pan or wok over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the sesame seeds and stir until they pop and become fragrant. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the greens and 1 Tbs soy sauce, raise the heat and cook, covered, for 1 minute. Uncover and sauté for 1 or 2 minutes more, until the greens are tender but still bright green. Stir in more soy sauce and vinegar to taste, and serve immediately.
Serves 4 as a side dish.
We have Chesnok Red Garlic for you today. They are a purple heirloom cultivar (also called Shvelisi) from the country of Georgia. They have a robust flavor and buttery texture that hold up well during cooking and is well-rated for baking or roasting. Yes, the cloves can sometimes be a little pink, nothing wrong if you see this.
Winter squash season is upon us. This week you have Delicata Squash. We love these little squash and the easiest way to cook them is to slice (take out the seeds) and roast the rounds. Eat them skin and all. This recipe includes that step. Reminder that if you want more squash and potatoes this winter than we give you we have an Winter Storage Crop Share to give you extra heavy crops to get you through when we have fewer boxes.
Roasted Delicata Squash With Crunchy Kale or Brussels Collards & Feta (food52)
1 (~ 5 to 6 oz) delicata squash, ends trimmed, seeds removed and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick half moons
1 bunch kale, leaves removed from the stems and torn into 1-inch pieces
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 Tbs ground cumin
1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
1 tsp plus 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
4 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/2 tsp ground sumac, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 pinch cracked black pepper
1/4 cup parsley leaves, roughly torn (optional)
Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack positioned in the lower third of the oven.
On a sheet pan, coat the squash and kale with the olive oil, then season with the cumin, red pepper flakes, and salt, until everything has a glossy sheen to it. Be sure to squeeze the kale leaves with your hands as you mix. Arrange the vegetables on the sheet pan, ensuring the squash pieces have contact with the pan and arranging the kale in empty spaces. The pan will be a little crowded, but the kale leaves will quickly shrink.
Note: If you have Red Russian Kale, it’s more delicate, add later than Toscano or Brussels Greens.
Roast in the oven until the squash is easily pierced with a fork and the kale crispy, 25 to 30 minutes, turning the squash over and mixing around the kale halfway into the roasting time.
Meanwhile, in a small serving bowl, whisk the tahini with the 1/4 cup water until it becomes a smooth, spreadable hummus-like consistency. Whisk in the juice of 1 lemon (about 2 Tbs), sumac, and 1/2 tsp salt. Loosen with more lemon or water, or add more tahini to thicken. Sprinkle sumac on top, if desired.
Remove the vegetables from the oven. Pour the remaining lemon juice on top, drizzle with olive oil, and top with the crumbled feta, pepper, and parsley, if using. Serve with the sumac-tahini sauce.
Extra Shares
Lettuce Share: Red Butter & Little Gems Heads 🥬
Bunched Greens Share: Brussels Greens 🌱